


AU - Submissives and Dominants

by Aria6



Series: A Coyote's Stories [11]
Category: Bleach
Genre: Alternate Universe - BDSM, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-12
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-03-12 00:05:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,779
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3337298
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aria6/pseuds/Aria6





	AU - Submissives and Dominants

Starrk looked over the gathering in front of him with carefully concealed anger and disdain.

He was hovering near the edges of the incredibly upscale ball, acting as a wallflower. Not because that was his nature – it wasn't – but because those were his orders. And there would be consequences to disobedience.

Starrk was a submissive. In Soul Society, the powerful were divided into dominants and submissives. Dominants were common, submissives were not. And only submissives could bear children to dominants. They also gave a dominant a feeling of completion, when he could find a submissive that perfectly suited his hormones and pheromones.

Starrk hadn't known why he'd been scooped up off the streets by a crime lord. He'd been a good enough hand with a knife and a decent thief, but that hadn't been why he'd been taken. Starrk had deeply resented being used as a sexual toy. The fool had underestimated him and before the month was over, Starrk had gotten a knife between his ribs. Of course, that crime lord had been a dominant. He'd known what Starrk was and had wanted to force him into compliance.

It had been another five years before he'd been found by an agent of the Seireitei. In that time, he'd become a feared assassin. Cold as ice, elusive as a shadow, deadly as an unsheathed blade. He'd hated it. It had started when the associates of that crime lord had tried to bring him down. Starrk had been forced to become deadly and had inadvertently taught himself the assassin's trade, getting a reputation in the process. After that, it had come naturally to kill more and more. But he had never, ever liked it.

So when an absolutely shocked agent of the Seireitei had detected him and proclaimed him a submissive, Starrk had… submitted. He'd gone with her to the Academy, where more and more people checked him over and over. They simply couldn't believe he was a genuine submissive, but pheromones did not lie. With no choice, they had finally inducted him into the Academy.

At first, Starrk thought it was a good deal. Free food and lodgings and plenty of wonderful places to sleep. But the downside emerged immediately. He was old, far too old. Only eighteen, but most submissives were identified as mere children. They were taken from their families and raised in the Academy grounds, before being started on classes. High court etiquette training started from a very young age. Compared to them, Starrk was completely uncouth. And being put in classes with ten year olds was mortifying!

This, though, was worse. The crown prince was looking for a submissive to share his life with. Apparently, he'd been looking for a very long time but now the King was in very poor health so he'd ramped up his search. Every eligible submissive had been called to this ball, no exceptions. And eligibility was based on age, so Starrk had been required to attend. His very basic etiquette lessons had in no way prepared him for the King's court, so he'd been instructed to stay out of the way and say as little as possible. If he disobeyed, there would be punishments. It angered him but there was very little he could do.

Picking up a glass of alcohol, Starrk sipped it as he paid careful attention to his surroundings. There was a moment of distraction, a point where no one was looking at him. He used that moment to vanish, disappearing into the gardens. That was also against his instructions… The King and crown prince wanted all eligible submissives present, not fiddling in the gardens. It was unlikely anyone would notice his absence, though, and he was hardly eligible anyway. What noble would want someone like him? He would probably end up paired with one of the non-noble dominants who made up the majority of the Gotei 13.

Starrk frowned and considered his options as he wandered through the gardens. Maybe he should just run away and go back to his old life. But… submissives were very rare. It was all too likely they would attempt to hunt him down. And really, being an assassin in the Rukongai was not a life he enjoyed. It just seemed that he enjoyed this even less…

Starrk blinked as his senses registered the faint sound of sword against sword. It sounded strangely muffled and he frowned, setting down his wine glass on the grass before venturing into an ornamental maze. Was someone using a muffling kido? Starrk had not been taught any kido, but he'd learned to control his innate powers long ago. Submissives were just as powerful as dominants. When a true partnership was formed, a submissive would fight beside their dominant.

Starrk quickly found the source of the sounds and carefully concealed himself in the shadows, looking at the scene in front of him with dead, emotionless eyes. It was one against three. The one was clearly an invitee to this ball… he was wearing a very fine, formal kimono that hampered his movements slightly. Still, the two swords he was using flashed with skill and grace. His opponents, by contrast, clearly did not belong. They were assassins, wearing the kind of black garb that was very familiar to Starrk. It was simply practical and he'd often worn something similar.

For a moment, he considered just walking away. This was not his fight and this man was a stranger to him. But then something… moved him. Perhaps it was a scent in the breeze. Perhaps it was the skill with which the man fought. Perhaps it was something about his appearance. But Starrk was moved to intervene. Reaching into his own kimono, he found the knife he'd carefully hidden, strapped to his leg. If that was found his punishment would be severe, but he never went without it. Survival was too ingrained in him to even consider it.

"Wolf stalks from the shadows." He whispered before ducking into the shadow. Until he was identified by the Academy, he'd thought he was a particularly powerful dominant. But submissives tended to be more powerful than dominants, when they could use it effectively. And this was his power.

One of the men lurched with a scream, muffled courtesy of the kido, as Starrk emerged from his own shadow to stab him in the back. The other combatants were shocked and Starrk used that to his advantage. His blade flashed in a deadly dance as he engaged one of the others. He was at a slight disadvantage, knife to sword, and his formal kimono did not help. But then Starrk summoned his other power, meeting the man's eyes.

I am going to kill you. His power promised, a deadly whisper. It filled his grey eyes, the knowledge and absolute certainty of the other man's mortality. You are going to die. Starrk had encountered very few people who could feel that conviction and not be rattled. This man was not one of them. He began to show signs of fear, his swordplay suffering against his terrifying opponent.

The man stepped backwards and tripped over a root on the ground. Starrk took advantage of that tiny lapse and his blade went home, slicing through the jugular. He leapt away in time to avoid being splattered by blood and watched in grim satisfaction as the body collapsed. There was a wet, bubbling scream as the third assassin died, impaled by the man he was facing. Then Starrk knelt, wiping off his blade before resheathing it. He needed to –

A hand came down heavily on his shoulder and if Starrk had been holding his knife, he might have done something unfortunate. As it was, he reacted with a sharp blow to the stranger's wrist before rolling away, coming up in a fighting stance. That instinctive reaction quickly turned embarrassing, though, as he recognized the man he'd saved. He was holding his wrist now and looking at him in shock.

"Oh. I'm sorry." Starrk said before straightening. His voice sounded normal now. Clearly the silencing kido had been broken. "I'm, um, not used to fighting with anyone else." That was an understatement. Pausing, Starrk really examined the man in front of him for the first time.

He was a handsome man. Tall, well built, he had a thin but well-kept beard. His hair was long and in a rather flattering style, to Starrk's eyes. His kimono was extremely expensive and he wore it well, which put the young submissive a bit on guard. This was a high noble, if he was any judge.

He wasn't the only one doing examining, though. And from the look on the others face, he was quite puzzled by what was in front of him.

"I'm… sorry… are you a submissive?" He asked and Starrk sighed to himself. He knew why the man was asking. His kimono was incredibly plain compared to the man in front of him. Virginal submissives would wear white, but Starrk was not entitled to that. Instead, his kimono was the ivory color that indicated he'd been tainted yet was still a possible prospect. It was Academy issue and really quite boring, unlike what most of the other submissives wore.

"Yes. My apologies if that offends you." He said briefly and the other man lifted his eyebrows, his lips beginning to quirk in amusement. "Now, forgive me but I must go." If he didn't get back to the ball soon, someone was likely to notice his absence. And while Starrk could easily bear a whipping, he didn't really seek them out.

"Wait – " Starrk ignored that, melting back into the shadows before taking off in a graceful lope. Pausing at the ballroom doors, he evaluated the situation again. When there was a good moment, he reinserted himself into the crowd. With that done, he found another glass of wine and went back to his wallflower duties.

No doubt he would never see that man again.

"…What in hell's name was that?" Kyoraku Shunsui wondered aloud before glancing over the bodies of his assassins. "…Hm." Scratching his neck, he shrugged before going to find a guard to clean up the mess. "Bit of a shame, really." He'd have preferred to take one of them alive. But his little helper had clearly not thought of that.

Shunsui had been expecting an attempt on his life. He'd even been planning on it… this was a bit of entrapment, an effort to find who was behind certain plots. Sighing to himself, he shook his head. That submissive had ruined it, a bit. Shunsui really had been planning to take one of them alive for questioning.

He really didn't regret it, though. Smiling to himself, he left the guards to their cleanup duties. Soon no one would have any idea anything had happened in that hedge maze. Then he made his way back to the ball.

"Did it work?" Juushiro said in an undertone as he took his seat on the dais. Shunsui sighed before responding.

"A touch too well. None of them survived. It doesn't – ah." The first of the submissives were being led up and Shunsui had to hold back a groan.

Very powerful dominants rarely took submissives. It was just so hard, to find one that was suitable. They had complained to the Academy many times, but the problem was divergent expectations. A dominant with dangerous duties, like himself, needed a submissive they could count on to hold their back. However, noble houses required something quite different from their submissives. They wanted submissives to be sweet, compliant little broodmares. And overall, the noble houses had prevailed when it came to Academy classes. So almost all the taichou of the Gotei 13 remained unmated.

That made life especially hard on the powerful dominants who were also high nobles. Some, like Byakuya, settled for unsuitable mates to meet their expectations. Shunsui really didn't want to settle but now that Yamamoto was showing signs of ill health, he really needed a submissive, despite not wanting any of them… well, except one.

Shunsui politely greeted all the submissives brought to him, but dismissed them quickly. He felt Juushiro's eyes on him, felt the concern of his advisors, but he was waiting for one in particular. Would they save him for the very last?

That was exactly what they did. The old puss bringing the boy to him was gracious enough but beneath that he could tell she wanted to minimize the lad as much as possible. That sharpened his interest even more and he smiled as he saw a horrified expression flit over the boy's face as he recognized the man he'd met in the garden. It was quickly controlled, but not quite fast enough.

"Your highness, this is Coyote Starrk." She said and Starrk bowed. To Shunsui's eyes it was slightly awkward, a courtesy that did not come naturally.

"Charmed." He said and the woman gripped the boy's arm to lead him away but Shunsui's frown stopped her in her tracks. "I would like to speak to him further." He reproved her and she hesitated before letting go of the boy's arm. "Tell me, have you mastered your zanpakuto yet?" He asked and the young man shook his head, his gaze on the floor. "You have no idea of your power?" If Starrk said that he'd be a liar. Shunsui knew it and Starrk knew that he knew it.

"He is only a first year student." The woman said stiffly and Shunsui lifted his eyebrows at the information. The young man was clearly an adult. How in Hades had that happened? "He has not even entered the zanpakuto classes."

"I would like to speak to him." Shunsui said, his tone cool. She took the warning, although she did not like it. "Starrk?" He wanted an answer. The young man looked up from the floor and Shunsui was surprised by the cold anger in his eyes.

"I am the wolf that hides from the shadows and kills without mercy. Then I howl at the moon, to give voice to my regret." The young man's voice was rough with anger. "What power do you own?" He demanded and a sudden silence fell at the blunt challenge. Shunsui smiled, meeting those grey eyes squarely.

"I have many powers… but I own one that is much the same. The ogre that hides in the shadows and kills the unwary." He said softly and saw a bit of uncertainty flicker across that young face. He was so very, very young to be so hardened. "But I have more powers than that. You will too, when you master your zanpakuto. Have you heard his voice?" He asked and the young man nodded.

"Her voice. She whispers to me in my dreams." He said, the anger mostly gone from his voice and attitude. Shunsui knew they were not following the proper courtly courtesies at all, but he did not care. As the prince, he could dispense with such things. "She sounds like a young girl… sometimes, she laughs at me." He admitted with a small blush and Shunsui smiled, enchanted.

"My zanpakuto laughs at me too, all the time." He said, feeling captivated. Grey eyes met grey again and he felt the spark between them. Yes, he was interested in this one. "Thank you, Coyote Starrk. I'm very glad to have met you." Shunsui wasn't going to make a decision tonight. He would have to discuss the matter with his advisors and of course, Yamamoto. But in his own mind the decision had already been made.

He watched as the old woman led the boy away and smiled to himself. This one would be his.

Starrk hissed in pain and squirmed, trying to find a more comfortable position in his bonds. Then he gave up. This was designed to be uncomfortable and he would just have to live with it.

He was waiting for his whipping. As soon as he'd responded to Shunsui, he knew a punishment was coming. He'd been too frank, too informal. The fact that the prince had responded in kind would not make a slight bit of difference. The painful grip his chaperone had on his arm when she dragged him away had made that clear.

"Coyote Starrk." That was the headmaster of the Academy. Starrk lifted his head and narrowed his eyes. The man was a dominant, but an elderly one. He regarded the young man in front of him like he was an unsavory insect. "You have disgraced us all with your conduct." He said sternly. Starrk just stared, waiting. "You are hereby sentenced to thirty lashes, followed by a bath of tenseri water."

"What?!" Starrk breathed, disbelieving. "You must be – mph!" A silencing kido went over him and he writhed, trying to break free of the black leather. Had they lost their minds? Thirty lashes was the kind of sentence a deserter or a violent thief might receive. He'd expected ten at the most! And what was tenseri water? He'd never heard of that at all.

The master of arms was the one to hold the whip. If the woman felt any compassion for him she didn't show it. Every blow was strong and the whip was tipped in metal. Starrk was bleeding by the fifth blow. By the tenth, he was sagging in his bonds. But the twenty-third, he was unconscious, his blood flowing freely from his back. After the thirtieth blow, something cold and wet was doused over his back.

Starrk woke up violently, his mouth opening in a soundless scream as the dark blue liquid burned him like acid. It was like salt in the wounds, only worse… he bent over as much as he could and vomited, heaving violently at the unbelievable pain.

All this for talking honestly? Starrk thought, dazed, and blinked as he gazed at the mess in front of him. …I have to get out of here. This was over. His dreams of graduating and finding a mate, someone in the Gotei 13 who would appreciate his blade, were done. Vaguely, as they began removing him from the restraints, he realized he'd been a fool to even think it. Seduced by his 'special' nature as a submissive, he'd forgotten the brutal truth… that he was still a child of the Rukongai, a tainted, bitter fruit of the unclean streets.

He was nothing but trash to them. When and if he recovered from his wounds, he would escape.

For a while, Starrk thought he would die from the whipping he had received.

He was brought to one of the confinement rooms. That was a fairly common punishment for an erring submissive… being locked inside one of those rooms for a day or two. Meals were pushed into the room through a slot under the door, and the empty dishes were pushed out the same way. Ditto for the chamber pots. Often punishment rooms had a window, but not this one. All he had for his needs was the bed and a candle, along with some tapers to light it.

Almost immediately, several of the open wounds on his back took an infection. Starrk was grimly certain that fluid they'd doused him with had something to do with it. However, he knew how to handle such things. They provided him with cutlery to eat his meals with, and the knife wasn't sharp but it could be heated over the candle. The process of lancing the pus filled wounds on his back was painful, but necessary. Starrk knew the scars would last forever, but he was determined not to die. He was a survivor.

Once the infection went down, his body began to mend swiftly. That was not a surprise. His level of innate power assured quick healing. But then something happened that quietly enraged him.

Starrk was being fed nothing but white rice and water, with a tiny bit of fish and pickled vegetables. That took care of his physical needs, even if it was very monotonous. Tonight, though, there was something wrong with is food. Starrk cautiously nibbled a bit of fish before spitting it out. Narrowing his eyes to slits, he delicately licked the bowl, trying to isolate the flavor.

As an assassin, he knew dozens of poisons. And one of his abilities, one he'd used on many occasions, was the ability to detect any taint with a simple flick of his tongue. The poison someone had mixed into his food was one meant to mimic a natural death. If he ate it, Starrk knew he would suffer violent stomach cramps followed by convulsions and death. It would look like food poisoning, if no one cared to check. Lifting his lip in a silent snarl of rage, he looked at the food.

"So." He whispered the word, his eyes cold as he tightened his grip on the utensils. "…Hm." He carefully tested the water and was relieved to find it was untainted. A wicked smile crossed his face. Instead of eating the food he dumped it into the chamber pot before pushing out the dishes. Then he settled in to wait.

Eventually, someone would come to collect his body. And then he would be ready.

Shunsui had been very busy all week.

He'd spent it consulting with his advisors, trying to determine the best thing to do with this young submissive. Coyote Starrk posed an interesting problem. While he was old enough to be claimed, he hadn't completed the Academy. All of his advisors – many of whom were his fellow taichou – knew how long he'd been searching for a submissive. While many of them were uneasy about the delay, most thought he should give the young man the years necessary to finish his schooling in court etiquette. The skill of battle, he already had.

Yamamoto, though, wanted something more. Ailing or not, he wanted to meet and speak to the submissive Shunsui was contemplating mating with. So Shunsui and Juushiro went to the Academy to collect the youngster. They didn't bother to send word ahead. After all, where else would Coyote Starrk be?

That made the reaction when they arrived especially interesting.

"I'm afraid he's indisposed." One of the instructors apologized to him. But there was something strange in her tone and her eyes flitted away in a way Juushiro and Shunsui both interpreted as guilty.

"Really? That seems odd. He seemed like a very strong young man." Shunsui said easily but Juushiro could hear the undercurrent of concern. "When do you think he'll be available?" The woman opened her mouth but then hesitated a moment before finally speaking.

"At least a week. His… his injuries were severe." She'd lowered her voice now and the guilt was more pronounced. Shunsui frowned, leaning forward a bit and dropping his voice.

"Injuries? What happened?" He questioned and she licked her lips before continuing.

"It's the harshest punishment I've ever seen, highness. After the… the ball, when he disobeyed the headmaster, he was whipped." She said and Juushiro exchanged a glance with Shunsui. Shunsui was frowning but Juushiro remembered the way the young man had bluntly challenged the crown prince. After that a small whipping would be – "Thirty strokes and that horrible blue stuff afterwards…"

"Thirty?!" Shunsui sounded horrified and Juushiro swallowed, shocked. He'd seen deserters get less than that. "Wait… do you mean a rattan wand?" That would be painful but much less damaging than a real whip. But the girl shook her head.

"A man's whip." She whispered and Juushiro felt sick. That was like – like cutting someone's arm off for stealing an apple! "He's been in confinement since. I don't think they gave him any kido healing… he's alive, that's all I know." She was clearly very distressed by the treatment of her pupil. But… "Please, sir, you didn't hear this from me?" She wrung her hands together and Shunsui took a deep breath before patting her on the shoulder.

"I heard nothing from you. Where is he being kept?" He asked and with a few directions under their belts, they went to collect the young man. "We're not leaving him here." Shunsui said, anger resonating through his voice. Juushiro nodded.

"No, we can't. It must be the noble houses. They must have realized…" He said and saw Shunsui's jaw tighten. They must have realized how taken Shunsui was with the young man and were taking steps to ensure it would never, ever come to anything. "If we don't get him out of here they'll take more direct action." He was sure of it. Coyote Starrk's life was in deadly danger.

"This is the room." Shunsui said before working on breaking the locking kido. With that done, he opened the door and stepped inside –

And a pottery jug shattered over his head. Shunsui went down in a heap and Juushiro had to protect himself from a flurry of blows. He managed it and heard a curse, saw furious grey eyes before the young submissive suddenly broke off and went sprinting past him.

"Stop!" He engaged his shunpo, trying to catch the boy. He was very good for someone completely untrained, but that wasn't enough to evade a taichou. He caught the lad by his waist and brought him down, pinning him. It wasn't easy but the boy was clearly weakened from his injuries and recovery. "We're here to help you." He pleaded and the boy just glared at him, hostility in every line of his body.

"Oh sweet kami my head…" Shunsui came stumbling up behind him and the lad under Juushiro suddenly stiffened as he recognized his face. "What did you do that for?" He asked plaintively and Starrk squirmed.

"I need to get out of here. They're trying to kill me." He said shortly and Juushiro blinked. How could the young man know - ? "My food was poisoned. I helped you, let me go. I'm going back to the Rukongai."

"The food was…" Juushiro swallowed. The noble houses had moved swiftly to eliminate the competition. "How did you know?" He asked and Starrk frowned at him before answering.

"I can detect all poisons and potions." He said and Juushiro glanced up, meeting Shunsui's gaze. He knew they were both thinking the same thing… that was a power beyond price for the consort of a king.

"Sweet kami, this is fate." Shunsui murmured and Juushiro was inclined to agree. This submissive would be the perfect partner for his friend. Starrk laughed, though, and it was ragged and angry.

"My fate to die horribly? I'm sure, but not just yet. Let me get out of here." He said and Juushiro realized he didn't understand. But then, how could he?

"Starrk, we're here to take you to the palace to meet the Soutaichou." Shunsui said soothingly and Starrk frowned as Juushiro let him up. "And now that we know what's going on here, you won't be coming back. We'll get you private tutors." That was unusual but could be done. "And some lessons at the dominant Academy." Their classes on fighting and kido were much better than what the submissive Academy offered anyway. That made Starrk look at them in confusion.

"Why would you bother?" He asked and Juushiro could only smile. He was so adorably innocent. Shunsui laughed, taking his hands.

"Starrk, I want you to be my consort." He said sincerely and they both saw the young man's eyes widen. "You are perfect. You're trained as an assassin, you can detect poisons, you have such power and skill…"

"But… I'm not a noble… I don't know how to act…" Starrk protested and Shunsui laughed.

"We can teach you that." He promised, reaching out to cup the young submissive's cheek. Their eyes met and even Juushiro could feel the intense connection between them. "What we can't teach someone else is your inner strength. I know you've had a hard, difficult life, but that's what's made you into what I need. Please trust me Starrk. I need you." Shunsui meant it. He meant it with all his heard and Starrk could see that. The young man swallowed before nodding.

"I'll come with you." He whispered and Juushiro smiled as he watched them hug. He watched their backs as they left the Academy. Several people saw them and he spotted some horrified looks, but no one dared stop them. He made a note to have the submissive Academy investigated, and soon. Maybe they could finally break the stranglehold the nobles had on it, and get the submissives educated properly.

The taichou of the Gotei 13 deserved to have mates.


End file.
